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Nutella Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

Nutella Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

January 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Have you ever had one of those times in your life where you’re neither really here nor there? For example, the summer in between high school and college, your not in high school but you certainly haven’t been through the trials of being a college freshmen yet either. Graduating college but haven’t started a full time job, your done with school but not officially initiated into the working world. I suspect being engaged is somewhat like this as well, your not exactly single but you aren’t married yet either. Did you have one of these moments recently in your life? I’m there, I’m in the college to real world working middle ground. At first it was kinda cool, everyone was going back to school and I was sleeping in, working out when the gym was least crowded, and relishing the no homework side of life.

 

That wore off far too fast. Not to mention I think I have fully credited my sleep debt for the all-nighter’s I pulled throughout my college years. Now I’ve taken to stressing over moving and walking Dakota the dog for 5 miles to enjoy the unbelievable California weather before its gone. Oh, I guess I’ve been packing too.

The holidays may be gone but that doesn’t mean hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps have to go with it. Here is what I’m thinking so you might be on a diet but just swap this drink for dessert and you will be more then satisfied. Its rich and creamy with a zing of peppermint to finish it off. Not to mention non-fat milk is a part of a healthy diet right? And nuetella too? Oh no…not nutella? Hmmm that’s weird, I wonder how that made it on to my food pyramid.

Nutella Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

Serves 2

 

|Gather

For the Hot Chocolate

1.5 C Low Fat or Non-Fat Milk

1.5 Tablespoon Nutella

1.5 Oz Peppermint Schnapps

 

For the Garnish

1 can Whipped Cream

 

|Create

Heat the milk to steaming either in the microwave or on the stovetop. If using the stove heat milk over medium heat until steaming then whisk in the Nutella. When combined slowly poor in the Peppermint Schnapps and whisk. Pour into mugs and enjoy.

 

|Enjoy

If you’re looking to spruce it up a bit garnish with whipped cream, although the drink is a bit rich to begin with so I’d say try it first before garnishing.

 

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Freaking Awesome French Onion Soup

Freaking Awesome French Onion Soup

January 5, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Question: So why is it when one wants to make soup it’s 70F degrees and sunny out? I mean I’m not complaining or anything but, California you’re really out doing yourself with this too good to be true winter time “weather”.

 

Lately I’ve been swamped with a million and five things to do and my site has unfortunately, taken a backseat. I promise to share the news and cause of my stress soon. Actually, I’ve been stressed over the fact that I haven’t written that post yet. Stress over stress go figure//story of my life.

 

I freaking love French onion soup and never really discovered it until college. I never ate it growing up because one of my family members can’t eat onions. LAME. This stuff is a warm hug in a bowl, like really, what could be better then savory soup with a big cheesey crouton on top.

Do tell. I’ll wait.

Here, I’ll take it one step further, a crock pot French onion soup recipe that cooks all day, and fills your house with an aroma that will take you straight from the front door when you walk in the house after work to the kitchen. Not impressed yet?

Fine, by the way, you’re really hard to please.

RED WINE.

There happy? Yep, I said it. Red wine is the crucial life-changing ingredient to make this soup truly irresistible.

 

My French friend, Xavier (pronounced zaw-vee-yay) confirmed that French onion soup is from France. Some of you may say well duh, its French onion soup. But! There are many dishes that we American’s think are native of a respective country but a trip to that nation would highlight this lack of correct information. For example, chicken Parmesan, is an American created dish…you won’t find it in Italy.

Freaking Awesome French Onion Soup

Serves 6

 

|Gather

For the Soup:

2 Quarts Beef Broth

4 Large White Onions, Sliced

4 Tbsp butter

¾ C Red Wine

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ tsp. thyme

2 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

For the Crouton:

1 Loaf Sourdough or other artisan bread, sliced

8 oz. Gruyere Cheese, Shredded*

 

*Chefs Tip: Do not shred with a microplaner use a cheese grader. The cheese has a high moisture content and the microplane shreds the cheese too fine, a cheese grader works much better.

|Create

For the Soup:

Slice onions and mince garlic and brown in a large frying pan with butter until onions are soft. Add bay leaves and red wine. Bring to a boil and then simmer to reduce the wine. Once the wine has mostly evaporated remove the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the beef broth into the crock pot and add onions and  thyme. Combine and cook for 6 hours.

For the Crouton:

Preheat broiler, for my oven I did it on the medium setting. Slice bread, then toast it on oven racks for a few minutes to get bread crispy. Shred cheese. Ladle soup into bowls and place toasted bread on top and sprinkle with cheese then place soup bowls on a baking sheet and melt cheese under broiler 2-5 minutes then remove and serve.

 

 

|Enjoy

As with most soup recipes it’s delicious the day it’s made but spectacular the next day. So make enough for leftovers.

 

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Whole Foods Parking Lot

December 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Because you need a break from food.

Here is my better late then never Christmas present to you.

A hilarious music video and song.

Watch it.

So true and so funny. It’s getting real in the whole foods parking lot.

 

Be back Wednesday with something tasty!

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Persimmon Spice Cookies

Persimmon Spice Cookies

December 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

As I shared in my last post about my visit to Michigan I have three unique stories that, in my mind, were eye opening.

 

The first story, I was walking out of Panera where I had lunch on Monday just outside of Grand Rapids. Unlike California, every store or restaurant has two sets of doors at the entrance. I was passing through the first set of doors and a couple, a guy and a girl, were passing through the second set. I’m used to getting myself through doors, traffic jams, sticky situations etc. and don’t assume someone is around to lend a helping hand. Translation= I was ready to get myself through the door. The guy goes the hold the door for me (what a gentleman) and it slips out of his hand I catch it since I was ready to deal with the door from the beginning. Immediately he starts gushing apologies and explaining how the door slipped out and he was so sorry. My reply, “no worries dude”.

 

The next incident occurred as I continued my journey to Fremont. I began driving on the freeway in this comical Chevy Cruze I felt like it was a toy car. Since I didn’t really know where I was going, and was on four and a half hours of sleep, I cut some people off on the freeway to make my exit. Here in CA, that would have been a solid five-second-horn minimum perhaps the middle finger or at least a quick check in the rearview mirror would yield the angry driver mouthing not such nice things in my direction. When this happened in Michigan do you know what happened? The driver simply slowed and let me in…no horn, no finger, no screaming.

 

The final story, I drop my car off at the airport rental car garage. It was pretty dark in there and so I was having trouble double-checking that I had all of my stuff. Side note- when I lived in Italy I made it a pass time to shop the outdoor markets for all sorts of amazing winter accessories. I have quite a collection of hats, scarfs, and gloves which in my mind not replaceable considering I live hella far from Italy and I bought them at an outdoor market. Anyways so off I go to the airport and I’m checking in at United and this woman comes running into the terminal and she’s looking all around. She rushes up to me and says, “did you just return a rental car at Avis?” me, “uhm yeah” “I think you left this hat” Indeed, I had left my very favorite black knit hat which I wear regularly in the winter, again, an Italy accessory. If that would have happen here in cali, had I remembered and ran back to Avis the hat would have been gone, even 30 seconds later. I kid you not I would have been very sad to have lost that trusty hat.

 

These situations made me stop to think. People are actually nice in this world. I know it sounds weird but I feel like I spend so much time and energy in a true survival of the faddist here that I never really see human, kindness, or compassion. I mean have you driven on a freeway in LA or taken the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train at rush hour. Point proven. People aren’t nice here and they are looking out for themselves. Growing up in California my whole life I’ve never really noticed it until now. Got me thinking…might be time for a change of scenery.

 

Today, I’ve got some Persimmon Christmas Cookies. These are perfect if you’re feeling sugar, frosting, and candied out. They have got ripe juicy persimmon fruit and raisins, and some wonderful complementing spices.

 

Merry Christmas!

Persimmon Spice Cookies

 

|Gather

For Cookies:

1 C Sugar

½ C Oil

1 C Persimmon pulp

1 Egg beaten

1 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Baking soda

2 C flour

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg

1 tbsp vanilla

1 C walnuts

½ C raisins

½ C dates

 

For Glaze:

½ C Powdered sugar

1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice

 

|Create

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Mix sugar and oil. Add persimmon pulp and egg to mixture. Sift together baking powder and baking soda, flour, salt, spices and then add to mix. Add vanilla walnuts, raisins, dates and stir. Drop on cookie sheet and bake approximately 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together. Drizzle over cookies.

 

|Enjoy

Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge, they have a fairly high moisture content so refrigeration is a must. Serve at room temperature.

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Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars

Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars

December 23, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Michigan is HELLA cold. For those of you who aren’t from California let me translate, Hell of = Hella. Uhm, can you say culture shock? They say it’s a mild winter because there is no snow on the ground, many locals say it’s the first green Christmas they have had in many years. Hmmm I don’t think I’ve ever had a white Christmas come to think of it.

 

Wanna hear something funny? I brought my sunglasses to Michigan. What was I thinking? Apparently, its silly to assume all states have sunshine in the winter. California reasoning would have that since its not raining or snowing, by default the sun would be out. Wrong. Its gray just gray no blue no sun just gray. Aside from the weather and the temperature, they have a lot of trees here. In my 48 hours in the state these are the only assessments I can make.

Photo: California meets Michigan. Mind you, while I was at lunch wearing this get up, a girl walked by in a skirt no leggings!! And another one in a t-shirt!! In my defense, it was 36F that’s cold in my book, but what I do I know, I’m from California.

 

Christmas baking continues now that feeling has fully returned to all parts of my body. Check out these Peppermint bark cookie bars. They are awesome you know you want some. If you live near me and your reading this, holla and you can come swoop some.

Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars

Makes approximately 36 bars

Adapted from Bon Appetite. I used slightly less butter because I noticed that the chocolate was separating from the cookie bar because of the large amount of fat in the shortbread.

|Gather

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4/3 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 cup peppermint candie pieces
  • 2 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina)

|Create

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with long strip of 9-inch-wide parchment paper, leaving overhang on both short sides of pan. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolk. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just to blend.
  • Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into prepared baking pan, spacing evenly. Using moistened fingertips, press dough to form even layer over bottom of pan. Pierce dough all over with fork.
  • Bake cookie base until light golden brown and slightly puffed and edges begin to come away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; immediately sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over. Let stand until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Using small offset spatula, spread bittersweet chocolate over top of cookie in thin even layer. Immediately sprinkle chopped peppermint candies over.
  • Stir white chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Using fork, drizzle white chocolate all over cookies. Chill until white chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.
  • Using paper overhang as aid, lift cookie from pan and transfer to work surface. Using large knife, cut cookie into irregular pieces. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in refrigerator in airtight containers between layers of waxed paper or parchment paper.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/12/chocolate_peppermint_bark_cookies#ixzz1hOgnblpI

|Enjoy

Serve at room temperature and with a large cup of coffee, or a cold glass of milk and enjoy christmas in your mouth.

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Peppermint Chocolate Pretzel Treats

Peppermint Chocolate Pretzel Treats

December 17, 2011 by · 6 Comments

I got my flu shot yesterday, my left arm is not a happy camper right now. As I was getting the shot the pharmacist kept saying, “find your happy place” In my head I’m like are you kidding me?? I’m about to get stuck with a needle!!! I know my arm will hurt for days, and I’ve been waiting for this stinking shot for 45 minutes. There is no happy place to find, that was gone a long time ago…dude.  It’s out of the way now, so bring it on flu.

 

As a treat to myself and to console my weary little arm I decided to make one of my favorite and easy holiday treats. Holidays are all about cookies and cake; sometimes I’m looking for a different goodie to sink my teeth into. The Peppermint Chocolate Pretzel Treats are a perfect alternative.

Christmas is a week from tomorrow. Are you ready? Thankfully my Christmas shopping is pretty much finished with the exception of some candy and such for stockings. That frees up more time for making delicious Christmas goodies, but if your running a bit behind these treats can be made a head of time and take just a few minutes and look quite impressive when placed in a gift bag with a bit of ribbon at the top. They also look quite impressive in ones hand as its making a swift hand to mouth movement resulting in a magical disappearing act of pretzel treats.

 

Peppermint Chocolate Pretzel Treats

Makes 18 Pretzels

 

|Gather

1 bag (12oz) Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

18 Pretzel Rods

6 Candy Canes

Parchment paper

Sprinkles (optional)

 

|Create

Create a double broiler by putting a metal bowl over a small pot of water. Place the chocolate in the bowl and begin to melt over medium heat stirring occasionally. In a plastic Ziploc bag place unwrapped candy canes, seal the bag. Take a meat pounder or other hard object and break up the candy canes into smaller pieces. Once the chocolate has melted Use a spoon to roll the pretzel rods in the chocolate leaving about 1 to 1.5 inches of pretzel visible. Sprinkle while turning the rods with the crushed candy cane pieces or sprinkles. Place on parchment paper.

 

|Enjoy

Allow to cool and enjoy. To store place in an airtight container.

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From the archives-How to Make Fresh Pasta (Video)

December 5, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Two finals of my undergrad career in college to go.

 

One today at 10am in food packaging and one Wednesday at 8am in food engineering. Because I’m swamped with studying today, I’m giving you guys a little throw back to my how to make fresh pasta video. If you’ve never made fresh pasta before it’s crazy easy, the difference in taste, texture, and flavor will blow your mind. Don’t be a dough head and watch the video!

 

 

 

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So You Think You Can Streusel?

So You Think You Can Streusel?

December 3, 2011 by · 1 Comment

 

You know that moment when you realize a friendship is transforming, it’s becoming something extraordinary, maybe unexpected but exciting none the less. My friendship with Anika began at Taco Tuesday’s at Nick’s Crispy Tacos in San Francisco, each week we would share and admire our newly painted nails (she’s a nail polish connoisseur) and chat about the cute boys at the bar during our weekly meal with a somewhat complied group of friends.

Over thanksgiving break we went out together in the city with some friends and had a wonderful time…yesterday Anika, who is also on the quest for a job (she majored in art history, if you have a job opening holla!) anyways, she found a job posting for the absolute ideal job for me and sent it my way. I feel it is so humbling when a friend finds a piece of information and goes out of their way to pass it along. I stopped to think, and realized I like where this friendship is going and I hope that it only continues to grow.

Crumb cake is messy, it has crumbs everywhere, it complements a cup of coffee and it makes the morning paper soooo much better. Sometimes when I have a big rich breakfast I feel like I have to go back to bed to digest the meal, this crumb cake is light and won’t drag you into a food coma, pair it with fresh orange slices and you’re powered up for the morning.

Okay wait.

I just googled crumb cake and of course all these pictures came up that had these perfectly crumb-free pictures. THIS IS A LIE PEOPLE. If you’re not trying to get wild with the crumbs I’m sorry then, cause you’ll be missing out on this little gem. Get ready, this cinnamon streusel crumb cake isn’t messing around.

 

So you think you can Streusel?

Serves 5

 

|Gather

For the Crumb cake:

1 Egg

2 Cups Bisquick light or multigrain pancake mix

2/3 C Milk

2 Tbsp. Sugar

¼ Orange Zest

 

For the Streusel:

1/3 C Baking mix

2/3 C Packed brown sugar

4 tbsp. Butter

1 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ tsp. Vanilla extract

 

|Create

Heat oven to 375F. Grease a 9x9x2 inch pan. Stir together ingredients for cake. Spread into pan and place in preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes. While cake is baking make the streusel by combining all ingredients in a large bowl, should have a crumbly consistency. Personal preference, dictates the best streusel toppings are created by hand. Sprinkle on the cake and continue to bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.

 

|Enjoy

Serve warm and may sprinkle a bit more brown sugar over the top. Cinnamon streusel crumb cake compliments fresh orange slices and a steaming cup of bold coffee it will round out a fuss free morning.

 

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Get You Movin’ Green Drink

Get You Movin’ Green Drink

November 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Green drink. That just goes against everything we are told about beverages right? If it’s green, and it liquid, basic biology tells us to stay away. When you’re sick all you can think of is one of two things, or maybe both: How sick and miserable you are or, how badly you want to get well. Sick or not sometimes we all need a little pick-me up or if you’re still feeling sluggish from thanksgiving maybe a bit of detox.

Today, for my packaging class I did a presentation comparing baby food in a traditional glass jar package and baby food in a flexible package; more specifically a pouch. Glass is the primary choice for baby food it is estimated about 3.5 billion units will be produced in 2010. Why is glass so successful? Because parents want to see the food they are going to serve to their baby, it’s also inert package, which means that no chemicals leach into the food. Furthermore glass also dictates a certain premium-ness for the product. Think about it if you are shopping for lets say spaghetti sauce, and you were faced with the choice between a pretty glass jar of sauce and a steel plated can, which would you choose? I think it’s safe to say most of us would reach for the glass jar.

 

During my presentation I used my glass baby jars as a demonstration for the tamper evident button, which is found at the top of each jar. Consequently, the pouch that I had, of the peas, spinach, and pears flavor was unopened and needed to be used. Since I don’t have any babies or know anyone that does.  I got thinking…what to do with this pouch of baby food? Then it hit me, Get You Movin’ Green Drink. I could use it in a smoothie drink, that would hopefully make me feel better, as well as use up some kale and a frozen banana. Kale, especially in the raw form is a great source of vitamin A. The baby food of course is packed with nutrients, if you don’t have any on hand don’t worry just add an extra handful of kale.

Get You Movin’ Green Drink

Serves 1

 

|Gather

For Smoothie:

1 Frozen or overripe banana

½ Pouch of 12.4 oz. baby food: Peas, Spinach, and Pears

¼ C Mango Orange Juice

¼ C Low Fat milk

1 tbsp. Honey

2 Ice cubes

Small bunch of Kale (with the stem removed)

 

For Garnish:

Fresh Raspberries

 

|Create

Peel the banana and place in a blender. Add the juice, milk, kale, baby food, ice cubes, honey. Blend for two minutes to make sure that the kale and banana are well distributed. Taste test to make sure the flavor meets your liking.

 

*Note- any of the above ingredients may be substituted for your choice for example: almond or soymilk in place of cow milk or orange juice instead of mango peach.

 

|Enjoy

Garnish with fresh raspberries. A straw makes everything better when you’re hurtin’ so feel free to stick one in and slurp up!

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Drunken Portabella Mushroom

Drunken Portabella Mushroom

November 26, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Beginning in 7th grade and spanning a time period of seven years I was a vegetarian. I consumed dairy and the occasional seafood product but aside from that, I had zero animal sources contributing to my diet. The original reason I choose to be vegetarian was because all the cool kids were doing it. HAHAH JUST KIDDING!! Hopefully no one changes their diet on a reason like that but hey…kids these days. Anyways, I actually choose to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle because I simply did not care much for meat.

 

When I began my freshmen year of college I had a real rough time trying to eat in the cafeteria on campus as I lived in the dorms. Some nights my only option for dinner was salad. And believe me, that gets real boring after a while. I once complained  to the staff that there were not enough vegetarian options, and was met with the response, “There’s a salad bar.” Uhmmm I think you missed the point there buddy.

 

In my struggle to find complete protein for my active lifestyle (I was NCAA D1 diver) I ultimately could not find enough non-heme sources to satisfy my body’s need. Heme protein is the type of protein found in meat sources, it is my understanding that this type of protein is more easily available for use by the body. Non-heme protein, which is found in plant sources, is much harder for the body to make use of, and often much less is available gram for gram as compared to its heme counter part. As I became weaker and lost a good portion of the hair on the top of my head it was time to seriously look at my diet. Beginning in June of that year, I began to slowly introduce meat and meat products into my life. OH MY! What I was missing…don’t even let me begin to tell you. Bacon, wow. Facon bacon does not do it justice and I’m so happy to have it back in my life.

But the main reason I went off on that tangent is that while I was a vegetarian my mom would come up with all of these creative items for dinner with veggies. One of my favorites was a roasted marinated mushroom with fresh creamy polenta. I wanted to jazz it and up and what did I do? Add Beer, of course. I have two more weeks of college and I’m going to milk it for all its worth! I created Drunken Portabella Mushroom it’s got a portabella mushroom marinated in a rich beer with garlic, salt, and pepper. Topped over creamy polenta, and completed with crispy onions (using the beer marinade as the batter) and a bit of fresh arugula to round it all out.

 

Drunken Portabella Mushrooms

Serves 2

|Gather

For the Marinade:

2 Portabella mushrooms

1 Dark beer

2-3 Gloves of Garlic, chopped

Salt and Pepper

EVOO

For the Polenta:

1 C Dry Polenta

2 C Water

1 C Milk

1 Tsp Butter

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds (Optional)

Salt and Pepper

For the Crispy Onions:

½ C Flour

1 C Beer Marinade

Canola Oil for Frying

½ White or yellow onion

Pinch Salt and Pepper

Arugula, for garnish

|Create

Place the mushrooms into a plastic zip lock bag and pour the beer over the mushrooms, add the garlic and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the top. Let marinate for two hours occasionally flipping the mixture so that both sides are easily coated. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the mushrooms on a baking pan and drizzle with EVOO. Bake for 10 minutes then flip the mushroom and bake an additional 10 minutes.* For the polenta, bring the water milk and butter mixture to a boil then slowly stir in the polenta with a whisk. Make sure to stir continuously and in the same direction to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat and continue to stir until mixture has thicken, if you choose to add chia seeds you may do so at this point. For the crispy onions slice half a white onion half ways to allow the rings to stay in tack. Heat the oil on medium till hot enough to fry. Put the onion pieces into the marinade for a few minutes to allow the onion to soak it up a bit. Then dip them into the flour and place in the hot oil, fry until golden and crispy. Allow to drain on a paper towel.

 

*Note: Depending on the thickness of your mushroom more or less time may be required to fully roast the mushroom.

|Enjoy

Assemble: Place a bed of fresh polenta then place the mushroom over the top and stack onions and arugula.

 

 

 

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